Unheralded Recruits Making Big Impact

While it is easier to project a recruit's success in basketball than in football - see Beasley, Mike; Durant, Kevin - there are still plenty of reminders that recruiting is far from an exact science. Consider two of the biggest stars from the first weekend of the NCAA tournament. Beasley, O.J. Mayo and Eric Gordon - all future pros - are done for the season, while unheralded prospects Stephen Curry and Joe Alexander are emerging as full-fledged stars.

Colleague Barry Svrluga has a great read on Alexander, who grew up in Asia then moved to Mount Airy. He wasn't on the summer circuit and spent a year at Hargrave Military Academy, where he earned an offer from West Virginia. Curry, son of former NBAer Dell Curry, grew up in Charlotte - middle of ACC country - but was limited mainly to scholarship offers from schools in the Big South and Southern conferences. After victories over Gonzaga and Georgetown, Curry and Davidson are now on college basketball's front page.